Ever After
by Futurewound
Summary: Professor Layton is pretty underdeveloped in some ways so here's me filling in some plot holes (which is pretty fun) anyway here's a story about Flora.
1. Prologue Part 1

_I'm attempting to write fics again on a new account. I actually had this one planned for a long time but never really felt that it was developed enough. Anyway, please let me know what I can work on and whatnot. __Alsoyesididjustnameaficafteramarianastrenchsongdon'tjudgeme_

There was silence. In the barons office with all its golden splendour and lush velvet furniture the silence was one that was sickeningly out of place. It was Augustus Reinhold himself who forced a question into that silence, he was the only one who had any right to.

"How long will it be then?"

"It's hard to say at her state. She's a fighter alright; yet she's been in and out of it for a long time. All I know is that she may have a few weeks...at best."

He nodded and dismissed him, sitting down after a moment and he began to think. He thought for a long time with his eyebrows scrunched and his hands clasped over his belly. He might have thought the day away if not for the voices.

The first one he recognized instantly as his wife. When he first realized he loved her, it was one that filled him with happiness whenever he heard it. Nowadays it was a cold kind of happiness. A second voice was also present; this one had a bubbly sort of lilt to it; it belonged to his daughter. Her voice also had a cold kind of warmth to it, one that should never be.

He had tried loving her for Violets sake. She was just a child, barely a toddler even; yet a thought in the back of his head continued to remind him of the undeniable truth. After Flora was born, Violets health had waned immensely. It was gradual at first; she had gotten a bit more paler, developed under eye circles, sniffled more often; he chalked it up to her having just given birth. Then it began to include dizzy spells and breathing troubles. Over time her face had lost its glow and held a gaunt like appearance.

It worried him even in the beginning, but being the person she was Violet gently informed him that he was being silly and shook her head, smiling. Whenever she said this a part of him believed her and another part of him wanted to be true. Besides, whenever he saw her fawning over Flora he just couldn't bring it upon himself to ruin that happiness.

It couldn't last forever though, one day she collapsed. It wouldn't have mattered if she had the strength to fight him at that time because after that he wouldn't let one peep out of her about him being 'silly'. He 'hired' servants to pamper her and to keep Flora busy and the best Doctor he could buy was summoned immediately. This infuriated her; she disliked being treated as if she were frail.

"Really Augustus!" She would exclaim whenever she could. Those were often on her best days when she almost looked like she was healthier. Upon seeing her like this, Augustus almost fooled himself into thinking things were getting better. It seemed this was one of those days. He smiled, lifting himself up and went to check on the source of the voices.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Flora remembered her as an angel. She always spoke softly and smiled kindly; never once letting anger get the best of her. Even when Flora was sad or angry her Mother would simply hug her and rub her back murmuring "It's okay, love" and though it was a simple action it calmed her and Flora would wrap her tiny arms around her mother as best as she could and through blurry tears replied as best as she could in a quiet whisper 

"Okay"

She could never remember what had her so angry. Her best guess was that it was because of her Mothers poor health but it was never quite a sure thing. Every time she tried to remember her vision would become blurry and she would get headaches so it was simply easier (and less painful) to make an assumption.

One memory that did not come with the drawbacks of headaches was when she talked to the statue of her Mother. She recalled sneaking out at night time with a candle (or at least a torch because it was usually rainy.) A coat, a waterproof blanket and an umbrella to go see her after her lessons or simply because everyone else was asleep and no one would bother her about suppertime or bed time; she would talk to her mother in a way she was never able to when she was alive. She would complain about how Simon was always picking on her or how her lessons went or various other things. Then she would say "see you tomorrow maybe!" If she thought she could manage the energy to go (which she usually could) and snuck into bed so she could attempt sleep for an hour or two.

Flora was well aware that the stone resembling her Mother was not her Mother at all…but neither was Dahlia. Dahlia was in fact, a complete opposite of everything her mother was. She was at a complete lack of the angelic demeanor her mother possessed, was demanding and had a wrinkle forever etched between her brows because she was always frowning. Originally she was her Mother, or at least a mechanical incarnation of her. However her Father was disturbed by this and her personality wiped away and replaced by this woman whom Flora had no intention of attempting to be friendly with.

Looking in the mirror now, she saw a closer resemblance to Dahlia than the faint memory of her mother. She was neither Angelic or graceful and was finding it harder and harder to control her emotions each day. She could not maintain a calm demeanor no matter how she tried.

This was the very reason why she considered herself lucky that she was living with the Professor. He was collected and never seemed phased; not even when she was upset over being left behind on his and Luke's investigations in Dropstone and…what was it? Oh yes, Folsense. He was even so kind to let her tag along (until she got kidnapped but they filled her in on the rest.) She wished that she could simply do away with being selfish and not bother him but another part of her that was growing stronger and stronger with each passing day wanted him to be more considerate to her feelings. After all, he had promised to take in. And each day he slept at his office anyway, it was as if she was the only one living here…

Even so! It was still her fault for being careless and unable to keep up with them; perhaps she could talk to him and discuss the matter over his lunch break.

With this settled, she tied her hair up and headed out.


	3. Chapter 1: The Elysian Box

**A/N: I'm sorry! :"D I've been busy with school and life and stuff but trust me I've been working on this every chance I got. This is a lot longer than the prologues though so maybe that helps. Anyway, it will be a bit of a while before the next chapter so expect some fillers until then.**

If he made the claim that he never suspected that she would be here he would be lying. She hardly changed, showing a little more spunk than when he last saw her and maybe a more modern choice in clothing but she was mostly the same.

Though to say he knew her personally would be an exaggeration. He never met two of the three people standing before him but he was a reporter. With this job came the requirements of being able to write, investigate and study. It was easy enough to find information on the first two that would allow him to make this whole operation a believable one. Both came from well-known communities, no history of violence or anything worth reporting about (not that he would.)They had their share of adventures and tragedies sure, but information like that was easy to come by.

So when this mystery girl showed up out of the blue, exiting the gates of that strange town he felt something stir within him. It was nothing romantic; he never really experienced that sort of thing; and god forbid that it be anything- No, it was an old familiar feeling; like a slow exhilaration gently unfolding itself in his mind, urging him to investigate.

He told himself that there was no point to it. With just one glance he could figure out her whole story. Rich girl, tragic life, sheltered. She was a living breathing fairy tale.

Although…

Other than that he knew next to nothing about her. Neither her name nor her hobbies. From the looks of it she was going to be a hanger on of them for the next little while. It was best that he at least educate himself on the basics of this person. If he was going to play this role he needed to know everything he could.

So what Kind of person was Flora Reinhold?

By a twist of fate he found it out on one of his investigations. It was a remote town that was all bordered up by a wall. It reminded him of a novel he read once, or a comic. He spied from afar and realized that it wouldn't be possible to enter…what did they call it? Ah yes, St. Mystere. Imaginative.

With no other choice but to wait and see what had turned up for them (them being the Professor and that apprentice of his.) he sat on the ground in the shade, picking at the grass. After a decent hour he brought out his notebook and recorded his findings.

_Stuck outside. The town is surrounded by a wall, I'm not sure if this means that it's dystopian or not. I plan on leaving soon if nothing interesting happens._

"Hey kid."

He looked up facing someone who looked like they were going to go tie someone to a railway but then stopped and decided to try and be a villain from the 80's instead. He narrowed his eyes and glanced to the left, the "gatekeeper" was too far away to make out anyone if he wasn't looking for them and seemed to be preoccupied as well. He took that as a good sign and turned to his caller.

"May I help you?"

He said this neither rudely nor politely but monotone. He kept his emotions inside for quite some time now in order to fuel him. In reply the man began to turn red and pulled out a cigarette in. He sat down beside Clive and began to smoke.

"Forget it. I'm not wasting my energy on a punk like you."

"Need to find a way to get in?" He replied, unfazed by the snide remark.

"I have a way in. I was just wondering what you were doing here." He glanced at him again "You look just like the brat."

"I know."  
>"You do, eh? Does that mean you know about Layton too?"<br>Upon hearing him refer to this person like that, something clicked in Clive's brain. He recalled hearing about Claire Folley and her boyfriend and the many hours Dimitri spent worshipping her in the lab. At the same time he remembered hearing about a less subtle hanger on of hers named-

"Paul."  
>The man now labeled Paul looked at him.<p>

"Whuzzat?"

"I was told about a Claire Folley. Dimitri told me; He said that he was one of three admirers to this lady. She must have had-quite an interesting personality if she had three men liking her. And judging by the glare you're giving me I think it's quite correct of me to say that you're one of those three. Right _Paul_?"

Remembering his promise to not waste any energy on him Paul took one last puff and threw the cig away.

"You got all that from_ Layton_?"

Clive shrugged "Is that not what you referred to him as?"

He raised an eyebrow as if to say 'fair enough' and stood up.

"I don't like you. But I'm guessing you don't like Layton considering you know Dimitri. So here's something. I'll let you come into St. Mystere with me _if _you plan on telling me the whys and how's of you knowing him. The both of them."

"I can't go in."

"Why not?"

"If they see me here and now, it would compromise my identity and then-"  
>"Compromise your-" Paul shook his head "Look kid, I'm only saying you can come in and out with me. Do whatever you're doing. Nobody has to see you."<p>

After thinking it through he nodded "Very well then." Clive stood up and stretched "How are we getting in then, Paul?"

"I never said that you could call me Paul!"  
>Clive frowned "What do I call you then?"<p>

It was then that the man formerly known as Paul grinned a sleazy grin and twirled his mustache. He strook a pose that was strangely fitting and announced loudly "from now on you shall refer to me as the great Don Paolo!"

…Well then.

Clive reminded himself that if this…_Great Don Paolo_ could manage to get them into and out of St. Mystere then his antics could be bearable. Hopefully.

Looking back on it, it was really of the strangest coincidences that he met someone linked to Claire that would aid him in this. Well, without the promise of getting her back; he told him anyway, the plan to manipulate time to fix the problems caused by manipulating time. It was after the whole St. Mystere fiasco though, when the two and Dimitri reunited and someone else could deal with him.

Months later the three of them continued brainstorming. Looking for ways to make their 'set' convincing to those needed. It was Dimitri who came up with the idea of using a hallucination gas. Clive and Don Paolo weren't scientists and mostly uneducated and practically untrained in the field of science; along with this their other ideas weren't as effective. This gave them plenty of motive to just go along with what Dimitri said. However there was a problem.

"The thing with the gas" Explained Dimitri "Is that it's extremely hard to come by. The only three sources I know of are on the black market and in the mines of a town only of legend."  
>As he said this he walked over to a chalk board and began to write.<p>

"The problem with the first source is the price. Apparently many go to a great danger to get this gas and when they do get it they can only take a little amount at a time so as not to start suffering from the effects of it. The second is-"  
>"Wait a minute."<p>

Dimitri turned his head to see Clive standing up and looking skeptical. He only raised an eyebrow in return having already expected this. After receiving no verbal reply, Clive began to speak.

"So first of all, it's useless explaining why we can't get thus gas from the second source. Town of legend; hard to find. I get it. So just get on to the third source, yeah?"

Dimitri and Don Paolo glanced over to each other. Neither of them said anything though as they found it easier to just let it happen when he got like this. Sighing he flipped the board to the opposite side to show papers taped onto it. Some looked old some looked new, some were dated in 1987, others in morerecent times. In the middle of the board was the freshest one. It was a photocopy of a letter dated a week ago to a Hershel Layton. At this all interests were piqued. Dimitri went on to explain in heavy detail what this meant.

The Elysian box was an item just as famed as this legendary ghost town. After spending countless hours researching, Dimitri found evidence that led him to believe that this town was linked to the box (which anyone could see by the photographs and stories was the genuine article.) This box was also known as the box of death but because it happened to originate from a mystery town known for its hallucination inducing gas Dimitri figured that naturally the box must contain some of the gas.

In response to this, if that box contained the gas then it was likely that anyone who opened it was expecting certain death and as a result received just that. Right now the current owner of it was a Dr. Andrew Schrader. The plan was to steal the box from him before he could open it and analyze the contents in hopes of recreating what was inside.

"And what if that doesn't work?" Inquired Clive "What if there's no gas left to analyze?"  
>"Then we try and use the box to trace its origins." He said simply. He really had it all figured out.<p>

So with the plan in motion, the three of them set out to steal the famed Elysian Box.


End file.
